How to Play
The oldest player takes the top card of the draw pile and places it face up in the middle
of the four cards. This becomes the starter card. Then, at the same time, all players
look at the ball on the starter card to determine which card to look for next. The ball
on the 2nd card indicates which card is the 3rd card, etc., continuing until a player
determines which card is 5th. When you find the 5th card, slap it with your hand as
fast as you can!
Rules of Play
by collecting animals made of three parts.
Ages: Players:
10 & up 2 to 5
Contents:
50 pinball cards
Playing Time:
About 12 minutes
Object
Follow the ball from bumper to bumper to figure out which one is the "final" card in
sequence. If you find the correct card first, you collect it. The first player to collect
six cards wins.
Game Play Overview
Important notes:
• Each card may only be used once in determining the sequence from the starter
through 5th card. In other words, it's a process of elimination. Once the starter card
is revealed, only look at the outer four cards to determine which should be the 2nd
card. Once the 2nd card is found, only look at the remaining three cards (NOT the
starter or 2nd) and so on.
• You may not touch or block the cards except to slap and claim the 5th card.
When you find the correct 5th card, slap it. If the other players agree that it is the
correct card, remove it from the playing area and place it face down in front of you.
Move the starter card to the spot where the 5th card was, then draw the top card of
the deck and place it in the center to start the next round.
Each round follows the same pattern. The top card from the deck is placed into the
center of the four cards, all players simultaneously try to identify the correct 5th
card, a player slaps the card, and so on.
Ricochet is played out over a series of rounds. In each round, turn over the top card
from the deck face up into the center of a four-card layout. Then race against your
opponents to find the last (5th) card by following the pinballs on the bottom of the
cards. Each pinball indicates which card to look for next according color and size. The
last remaining card is the 5th card, which is awarded to the first player to correctly
identify and slap it.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and deal four cards face up in a cross/diamond pattern in the middle
of the playing area as shown, with the pinballs facing out. Place the remaining deck
face down nearby.
Turn over the top card of the deck into the center - this is the starter card. The ball
on the starter card determines which of the four outer cards is next, becoming the
2nd card. The ball on the starter card is large and blue, so find the LARGEST value on
the BLUE bumpers. (Remember, the bumpers on the starter card don't count.) The
largest blue bumper number on the outer four cards is the 30 (on the left card).
About the Cards
Each card has a red, a yellow, a green and a blue bumper with a number between 1 and
50. At the bottom of each card is a pinball. The pinball is either large or small, and is
in one of the four colors. The size and color of the ball determines which card to look
for next. A large ball means look for the largest number in that color among the
remaining cards in play. A small ball means find the smallest. Here are some examples:
When you see a large red ball, look for the card that has
the RED bumper with the LARGEST number.
When you see a small yellow ball, look for the card that
has the YELLOW bumper with the SMALLEST number.
When you see a large blue ball, look for the card that has
the BLUE bumper with the LARGEST number.
When you see a small blue ball, look for the card that has
the BLUE bumper with the SMALLEST number.
The ball on the 2nd card now determines which card will become the 3rd card. The ball
on the 2nd is small and yellow - so look for the SMALLEST number on a YELLOW bumper
(excluding the starter and 2nd cards, since they have already been used). The smallest
number on the remaining yellow bumpers is the 40 (the bottom card).
The ball on the 3rd card determines which card will become the 4th card.
The ball shown is small and blue - look for the smallest number on the two
remaining blue bumpers (the starter, 2nd and 3rd cards are not considered).
The smallest number on the remaining blue bumper is the 3 (the card on top).
There is now only one card remaining (the card on the right) - this is the 5th
card. Quickly, slap this card with your hand.
Take the 5th card (on the right) and place it face down in front of you. Move
the starter card from the center into the open spot on the right.
Slip Slaps
If you slap the wrong card, you must forfeit a card that you have already won by placing
it at the bottom of the deck, and are excluded for the rest of the round until somebody
slaps the correct card.
Ties
If more than one player slaps the 5th card at exactly the same time, then a tiebreaker
round is played between just those players. The starter card is returned to the bottom
of the deck. A new card is revealed from the deck, and the tied players compete with
the new starter card.
Ending the Game
The first player to collect six cards is the winner. (You can choose to play for more or
fewer cards, as long as all players agree on the winning number before the game begins.)
"Full Tilt" Variation (for experts)
Instead of four cards at the start (in a cross shape), put five cards in a circle, and slap the
6th card in the sequence to win a round.
Game by: Reinhard Staupe
Illustrations by: ImageTap Studio
Games for the Infinitely Imaginative®
124 Watertown Street
Watertown, MA 02472
tel: 617-924-6006 fax: 617-924-6101
e-mail: [email protected]
www.12minutegames.com
©2004 Gamewright, A Division of Ceaco, Inc.
All worldwide rights reserved.